Episode 527: South Park Games (Patreon)

Stuart Gipp derp de derp! A derp de derp, a teedly tum! That’s right – it’s time for Retronauts to get stuck into Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s controversial cartoon and the surprising number of games spawned from it. Now more than a quarter-century old, it’s quite remarkable that South Park’s cultural cachet remains as high as it does.

Of course, it’s a divisive and, at times, misguided show, but it’s my opinion (Stuart Gipp, hi, hullo) that overall it has earned its acclaim and place in history. Its politics are of course discussed on the podcast—how could we possibly ignore them?—but every single game, besides phone ones, get covered in this episode. From South Park on N64 to The Fractured But Whole on modern systems, no stone is left unturned in the hunt for nuance and meaning, much like Al Gore’s feverish search for ManBearPig. That was seamless, right? That shoehorned-in reference to the show in no way clunked or came off awkwardly, right? Oh. Well okay.

It’s the whole F’in’ show, kids; everything on every system, including cancelled games and input from Matt and Trey via the medium of research. And of course it took What A Cartoon!’s regular hosts, Bob Mackey and Henry Gilbert, to join me (credentials: I like South Park) in this exploration of how gaming inspired the series and how the series inspired gaming. Have I got time for one more quote? Here I come, God! Here I come, you f*****g rat!